How DAB came to Salamandastron and other stories ;)
Salamandastron: Crater
- -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Salamandastron *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
You are on the very top of the mountain of Salamandastron: a large, bowl-
shaped crater. The crater is not smooth, quite the contrary in fact.
Numerous boulders and large chunks of rock are strewn around randomly,
making the crater top just as craggy as any of the mountainside. The
crater provides an outstanding view of the surrounding country. The sea
sprawls off to the west as far as the eye can see, and north and south
along the endlessly rolling sand dunes. In the distant east, a tinge of
green is just visible from this height, marking the vegetation in the
foothills of the Western Mountains.
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Visible Exits:
[N]ortheast [M]ountainside [Down] to Third Level
Hares: Windrose, female. Felicity, female.
Windrose is up here enjoying the view and its a not too cold day today as its still very much fall time. She had a run earlier but now the rest of the day is hers to do what ever.
Felicity comes slowly hobbling up the stairwell, leaning heavily on her crutch, a very old-looking haversack on her back. She sighs when she reaches the crater and rests against the wall for a minute. Spotting the other hare, she waves, but for now stays silent.
Windrose smiles and waves back "Hallo Felicity and how are you today?" She smiles and seems in a good mood.
Felicity smiles in a slightly strained way as she stumps over to where the other hare is and sits down, resting her haversack on the floor. "Ungh, terrible. It's amazing how much paperwork they stick me with in the Armoury. I'm getting so /sick/ of sittin' around inside the Mountain. I decided to do some of my work up here and see if it calms my nerves down any." she opens the sack and pulls out a small stack of paper, a quill, and an inkwell. "How are you? You seem happy."
Windrose says, "Its a good day today, not hot and yet not too cold either. I even had a good run this morning along the beach, it was fun."
Felicity smiles a little more now. "Aye, I guess it is a good day, although 'twould be bettah if I didn't 'ave so much stupid paperwork." She gazes down at the little pile of paper in her paws and sighs. "I /'ate/ paperwork."
Windrose says, "Well, a break from work, 'tis always good, clears the mind and all, wot"
Felicity sighs again and rubs her eyes. "I wish I could take a break.....but I keep getting all of these stupid papers shoved at me, and I'm never sure which ones I should put off until later, and which ones I need to do now."
Windrose nods "Well, maybe ask like Quinten is something or when they are handed to ya ask then. Maybe tell someone you got too many papers to deal with right now" She shrugs.
Felicity thinks for a few moments, then nods and stuffs the papers, quill, and inkwell back into her haversack. "You're right, that's a much better plan than any that I could come up with. I think I'll take a break now and work on this junk latah." She grins up at her fellow Private. "You're a lifesaver."
Windrose chuckles and smiles, "Well one can't work non stop, tis not good for one to do that. My Aunt and Uncle always said take a break once in a while and also get a good nights sleep so you have energy and so your alert for the day or like alert for missions"
Felicity chuckles too, then gazes at her bandaged ankle. "I need to take a break from 'avin' to chase my little sistah around everywhere so my foot will heal and I can actually go /back/ on missions. She's a right horror, but I love her dearly." She stares at her foot for a few moments longer, then changes the subject by saying, "So, d'you mind my askin' if there was interestin' that you spotted on your run today? Crabs, toads, random strange hares, wotevah else?"
Windrose shakes her head, "Some sea gulls, but they are around the beach sometimes, nothing else really, why do you ask?"
Felicity shrugs and looks out at the sky above the crater's edge. "Oh, I was just curious. I'm getting a little sick of bein' cooped up in this Mountain. I'm a Runnah for a reason, and it irks me to be stuck in one place for so long."
Windrose says, "It seemed the normal day to me, nothing out of place or anything"
Felicity nods, then pulls a sketchbook and a charcoal pencil out of her bag. Opening to a half-finished page, she starts to draw. She's not the best, but neither is she the worst, artist in the world. "What do you do to relax? I draw, but sometimes it doesn't 'elp me feel any better."
Windrose shrugs "Just sit down and think guess, sometimes take a walk or a nap prehaps even. I guess I don't have many extra things I do"
Felicity smiles as she adds the details to her pirate fish's face. "Y'know, I haven't taken a nap for a super long time. Maybe that's what I need." Her paws are slowly turning black from the charcoal pencil.
Windrose nods "So do you have family here at the Mt.? My father use to be in the LP, but he retired early and lives in the nearby village"
Felicity nods slowly as she begins working on the details of the fish's scales. "Aye, my baby sister, Julia. My parents.....my parents and brother were all killed by searats about.....about a season or so ago...." she looks very sad, but isn't anywhere close to crying yet, which is good.
Windrose frowns, she decides maybe its best not to go on, "Oh...well your sister is here still, does she have any good hobbies she likes to do?"
Felicity wrinkles her nose. "Oh, aye, she likes to hit beasts with pillows. She's the ringleader of DAB, which consists of 6 leverets. They may be small in number, but trust me, they more than make up for it with naughtiness and energy. It's like trying to herd sharks some days!"
Windrose tilts her head "The...wot now? Wot does DAB stand for? I never heard of it me self"
Felicity sighs and looks up at the other hare's face. "It stands for Dibbuns Against Bedtime, first lettah of each word. They are against baths, bedtime, naptime, and obeyin' rules. They got it into their fuzzy little brains after I read them a story from Redwall that had the group in it. Fortunately, the majority of the leverets 'ere are eithah too little to understand, or old enough that they are proper Long Patrol Recruits-to-be. It's just the middle group that's driving us all who volunteer and work with the Dibbuns stark raving mad."
Windrose says, "Guess I have gotten lucky, the one day I helped with dibbuns they seemed to be behaving very well."
Felicity smiles wryly. "They have their days. I dunno why they sometimes behave well, and it's completely unpredictable as to when they will be good. It's a bit infuriating." She goes back to working on her drawing. Her fish is holding a hook in the fin closest to the observer.
Windrose nods "Maybe it was a day they were tried maybe"
Felicity shrugs while nodding. "I wish they would be tired more often, then. They once locked me in a closet; not the most pleasant experience I've ever had. And, of course, while I was trapped in the closet they stole a pie from the kitchens and wrecked the Children's Room. It was a mess. There were crumbs everywhere....."
Windrose says, "Well hopefully you didn't get into trouble for something they did, I am not sure I would like closed up somewhere either"
Felicity shakes her head and grins wickedly. "Oh, no, the worst that I got was a lecture to not trust Dibbuns of that age. /They/, on the other paw, were sent to bed with no suppah and had no desserts for 2 weeks. It made me feel very justified in my frustration." She is almost all done with her drawing. "And I wasn't so scared as I was angry that they locked me in a closet."
Windrose smiles "I should get back inside, I am supposed to have dibbun duty tonight, lets hope I have a good night and not a bad one" She then heads inside.
Thanks for reading! :D
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